UdayaKantha Warnasuriya’s Ginimal Pokuru is worth watching and is commendable for several reasons

• Chulakshi Ranatunga shows signs of being a versatile actress who dares to go where others don’t.
• Though described as a romantic drama, Ginimal Pokuru is a film noir.
• Udayakantha Warnasuriya should be commended for his dedication to filmmaking in such an unenviable environment.

UdayaKantha Warnasuriya’s new film Ginimal Pokuru is worth watching. I haven’t seen all his films; nor have I had much good to say about the few I have watched, but this film is commendable for several reasons, and here’s why. Though described as a romantic drama, Ginimal Pokuru is a film noir, about a Police inspector demanding a sexual bribe from a woman who seeks his help. 

It is supposed to be based on actual events, quite possible since the media regularly reports Policemen caught in similar situations. One can only guess that only a small number of these rogue Policemen actually get caught.

As far as my knowledge of Sri Lankan cinema goes, Policemen have always been cast positively. These stern-faced, steely voiced keepers of the law just can’t do wrong. 
From the Gamini Fonseka era down, they have always been cinematic heroes. If any Lankan film cast them as the bad guys, that must be the exception which proves the rule.
That trend is now changing, with new generation film making showing our Policemen less positively, sometimes as bullies. The traffic Policemen in Colombo (2021) and Motor Bicycle (2016) are shown as insensitive and bullish. But these are cameo roles. 

"Despite such flaws, this film is convincing and can be seen as a portrayal of the huge gender gap between the sexes in Sri Lanka. In a telling scene, Piyumi (Nilukshi Ranatunge) tells her exploitative Police lover: “There are limits to just how far even a woman falls.”

This change has come due to influence from Indian films, especially South Indian. While Indian cinema too, portrays Policemen and women as heroes, it doesn’t hesitate to cast them as villains, either. 
Veteran filmmaker Udayakantha has done something along these lines in Ginimal Pokuru, far bolder than any new generation Lankan filmmaker. 

His dashing young Police Inspector is the bad guy in this gripping melodrama. What he has done is groundbreaking for a Sinhala cinema, and he should be commended for that.
He should also be commended for his commitment to filmmaking in what is a very difficult, crisis-ridden sphere. After more than 70 years of filmmaking in the country, there is finally some talk of giving filmmaking its due recognition as an industry (But I’ll believe when it actually happens). 
In India, filmmaking is the third-largest industry and also the third-largest filmmaking enterprise worldwide. In Sri Lanka, it ranks below the 40th in the industries scale (while not being actually an industry), and less than 40 cinemas (mostly in need of upgrading) are available to screen Lankan movies.

Udayakantha Warnasuriya should be commended for his dedication to filmmaking in such an unenviable environment. But a price has been paid. His filmmaking art is not known for subtlety. He has been labelled as a commercial filmmaker, but the variety of his themes and his ability to make a convincing film with minimalist facilities and resources is remarkable. 
What should happen is that a healthy commercial cinema (Such as in India) provides a platform for introspective, more serious filmmaking. Over here, we have a preponderance of ‘art’ filmmakers making low budget films for festival circuits while commercial films are struggling. This has to change.

"Veteran filmmaker Udayakantha has done something along these lines in Ginimal Pokuru, far bolder than any new generation Lankan filmmaker."

Ginimal Pokuru may not be subtle. Subtlety is not Udayakantha’s strong point. That doesn’t mean he’s crude, except for occasional glitches like this one. I reviled from a scene where a rape victim walks along a rail track with blood dripping down her leg. Is this to suggest her defiled virginity? It is hard to imagine people looking for virgins to marry in this day and age, except perhaps in tribal societies such as ours.

Also, the bedroom scenes in this ‘adults only’ rated film reminds us just how far behind world cinema we now happen to be in where screen sex is concerned. 
Hollywood and most Western filmmakers abandoned gratuitous nudity and ‘hot’ sex years ago because of A. The Context was already saturated and B. The availability of free porn on the internet made screen sex redundant, anyway.

But the filmmaker may have opted for the adult’s only label as a marketing strategy in a desperate situation, and he can’t be blamed in that case. 
Despite such flaws, this film is convincing and can be seen as a portrayal of the huge gender gap between the sexes in Sri Lanka. In a telling scene, Piyumi (Chulakshi Ranatunge) tells her exploitative Police lover: “There are limits to just how far even a woman falls.” 

I think that sums up the general thinking, and why women are afraid to give even an email address, leave alone their telephone numbers, in day-to-day dealings with men.
The story is about a road hit-and-run case, and the struggle of a desperate young woman to protect her fiancé (Charitha Abeysinghe) who drove the car and, eventually, herself, from the tender mercies of a Police Inspector who offers to help outside the law. He even confiscates her car and refuses to return it. 

"This film makes me think that our cinema is backward and timid in thematic development not just because of censorship laws; our filmmakers simply don’t dare push the limits."

This film makes me think that our cinema is backward and timid in thematic development not just because of censorship laws; our filmmakers simply don’t dare push the limits. 
This is what Udayakantha has done in Ginimal Pokuru. The film, which portrays a rogue Policeman, could not have been done without the approval and cooperation of the Police Department. It even shows Police torture, at least in its setting. The scene where the Inspector’s superior changes the nature of the entire case with one stroke of the pen is really telling about how things actually work in Sri Lanka. The lip-lock scenes, too, are daring for a Lankan film – but this shows what a determined director can do to push the limits. But this again goes to show just how far behind world cinema we are, with our prim and proper morality.

But there’s one thing that disturbs me – the inspector tries to take advantage of Piyumi’s sister who’s under psychiatric treatment. 
I hope this is not part of the actual events on which the film is based. That an experienced Policeman is unable to identify a mentally unbalanced person or, worse, forces himself on her while knowing it, is too frightening to contemplate. 

As the film ends, the suave lady-killing Policeman is back at his job instead of being interdicted and investigated for his misdemeanours.
The performances are excellent – Chulakshi Ranathunga as Piyumi, Isuru Lokuhettiarachchi as Ranga (the Police Inspector), Charith Abeysinghe as Lasith, Dilrufa Shanas as Tharushi, Piymi’s sister, and Ananda Kumara Unnehe as the cunning and dangerous ‘helper’ at the beach.
Chulakshi Ranatunga shows signs of being a versatile actress who dares to go where others don’t. But the danger is that, if our filmmakers think that sex is what can sell a film to a lost audience, she risks being typecast into ‘sexy’ roles, whereas she amply has the talent to shine outside the bedroom.